About Us

The Cat Car

One of the most outwardly recognisable parts of our clinic is The Cat Car. It has been with us since we opened twelve years ago. Sitting to the left-hand side of our practice it greets all of our clients.

It never fails to impress me what a positive icon it has become for people; it makes them smile.

We have been to many schools in the early years of our practice and the joy that this car can bring to young children is fantastic. We have often been rewarded with many great pictures in return for having taken the time to share the car with them.

Sadly, the cat car has been outside for a large part of its life and the VW chassis that is underlying it has suffered from bad rust. It finally failed its last warrant of fitness about five years ago and can now grace our car park, but no longer venture out on to the road.

One of my favourite stories about the car is that of a Polynesian man, who I spoke to in the car park one day, who pulled out his wallet to show me a photo of his daughter and the car that had been taken several years earlier. He had kept in his wallet ever since it was taken.

The Cat Car was originally produced as the Whiskas Cat Car and was used to launch the brand in New Zealand. It has been in several variety bash events and travelled extensively throughout the North Island.

The car did recently have a run in with a courier van but has since been repaired and had a new paint job, so we are hoping our now ginger friend will continue to stand guard outside the clinic for some time to come!